1. Technical Field
The technical field relates to an imaging apparatus, and in particular relates to the imaging apparatus that uses a plurality of recording media virtually as one recording medium.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, in a video camera, a video tape, an optical disc, a hard disc and the like are used as a recording medium for recording a captured moving image. In recent years, a video camera using semiconductor memories such as flash memories has been widely spread. Such a video camera using semiconductor memories has advantages in compact size and light weight, and further in reliability because no mechanical structure as means for storing data is required.
On the other hand, as image quality of video pictures to be recorded by a video camera becomes higher, higher capacity of recording media is desired.
Prices of semiconductor memories greatly fluctuate due to market conditions of memories. Therefore, in a certain market condition, in order to provide a recording medium having necessary capacity, it may be more advantageous in the cost to use combinations of a plurality of semiconductor memories with low capacity than to use one semiconductor memory.
Generally a video camera requires real-time recording of video pictures. Therefore, when using a combination of a plurality of semiconductor memories, it is necessary to sequentially record video streams over a plurality of semiconductor memories in a stable manner (namely, securing real-time property).
JP 2002-351705 A discloses a digital signal recording/reproducing apparatus for dividing a data file into a plurality of drive spaces to record them and reproducing the divided and recorded data files. This digital signal recording/reproducing apparatus stores drive area information and FAT of the divided files as management information in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and records the data into a hard disc drive (HDD). Further, the digital signal recording/reproducing apparatus refers to the drive area information and FAT of the divided files and reproduces the divided and recorded data files as one file.
JP 2002-351705 A discloses the technique that records data into a plurality of recording media, but its object is to achieve continuity of recording data and effective utilization of recording areas. That is to say, JP 2002-351705 A does not concern recording of data stably (namely, securing real-time property) and continuously, which is necessary for video recording, at the time of recording data over a plurality of recording media, and fails to disclose a technique to do so.